This time it was Nova Scotians coming to New England to help out. That was payback, pure and simple. In December 1917, after the Halifax Explosion left half the city bleeding and homeless in a massive snowstorm, the city of Boston organized a relief train full of food, blankets, fuel and tarpaulins, and doctors and nurses from all over New England. The Boston train was the first into Halifax, and without that help a lot of people would never have made it through the week after the big blast.